Notice Me
by Normcore
Summary: It takes a special type of person to see what someone quiet like Tambry has to offer.


Wendy always understood without having anything spelled out to her – at least, she'd always hoped she did. Tambry was just a shy girl with a tough exterior. She criticized others before they could criticize her and was damn good at it. But Wendy couldn't fathom what the girl possibly had to be afraid of. She was gorgeous with flawless tan skin, wide dark brown eyes which, if you looked hard enough, you'd see were full of emotion, a slim figure, a smooth, silky voice…the compliments would never stop coming at her if only Tambry wouldn't shut her and everyone else out. It hurt that she pretty much ignored her presence, yes. But what was even more frustrating were the things Wendy worried she told herself at night. She strongly feared that she beat herself up with lies pushing her even further into her well-masked depression.

Regardless, she stood by the girl and did nothing. Wendy's policy was that she'd never try to force information out of anyone. According to many, though not in so many words, it was her calm, collected, unassuming nature which drew them to her in the first place. And the last thing she wanted Tambry to think was that she didn't want her to be herself/she wanted her to speak up before she was ready, assuming she'd ever be. No; all she could do was wait. It was a blessing that Tambry hung around her as much as she did. It wasn't something she would take for granted.

* * *

><p>Tambry laid on her bed, flipping through random tweets about what her friends had had for breakfast and what they were doing that upcoming weekend. She was just getting ready to write one regarding her laying down doing nothing when the screen lit up, vibrating in her hands. It was a text from Robbie:<p>

"hey, Tams. me n wendy n Thompson r going 2 c Zombie Rapture in a few hrs. U should come. thompson wants to see u"

'…Ugh' she groaned, shutting her eyes. Thompson? Really?

It was pretty obvious he had a crush on her. But he was always so childish, doing stupid stuff to keep everyone's attention. Thompson was not the sort of person you dated. He was the sort you invited to parties so you could have a good laugh if more entertainment was needed. Robbie and some of the  
>others had been trying to hook them up. She knew why. It was because they could sense that Thompson wasn't TRULY one of them, and that she wasn't trying to be, when that wasn't the case…not where she was concerned. Regardless, it didn't matter. It was none of their business who she dated. She wished they could manage to just butt out.<p>

…Still, it was a Friday night + her other friends were being hella slow to tweet anything. If the movie was interesting enough, she could always ignore that Thompson was even there. After all, it wasn't as if Thompson being present was the only reason they asked her to tag along. And if it was, well…she would just try to pretend otherwise. Honestly, she was used to doing that by then. She picked up her phone proceeding to ask Robbie about their whereabouts.

* * *

><p>An hour later, Robbie and Wendy were hanging out in front of a candy store downtown. Thompson was inside buying who knew what. Robbie'd noticed that Wendy had 'spruced up' her look a bit. She had on her favorite orange and red-striped tank top, frayed blue jean shorts, and a pair of matching red pump sandals. Feeling like she'd dressed that way for him, he kept his arm wrapped around her shoulder telling her how good she looked. He hadn't once noticed, in the 2 hours they'd been hanging out that night, how distant she was being towards him. It was she who had actually suggested they invite Tambry. Though him wanting her to be there was not a lie, she'd only told Robbie to mention Thompson as an excuse so she'd not suspect anything weird, since it wasn't like the group to invite her out of nowhere. This upset her a bit...she wasn't used to being so deceptive about her intentions. It's just that she felt she had a lot to risk if Tambry knew what was really going on.<p>

They told her to meet them there. Robbie held onto Wendy's hand as she peered out from the side of him every now and then just to see if she was on her way. The movie was scheduled to start in 30 minutes, so she shouldn't have been much longer.

"I bought a bag of gummy worms," Thompson said as he stumbled out the door, "Bet you guys I can eat them all in 30 seconds…oh, where's Tams?"

"Here."

They all turned their heads in the opposite direction to find her standing there. Her eyes were still glued to the screen of her phone. They didn't need to see them, though, in order to notice she too was not in her favorite typical manner of dress. But unlike Wendy, she was dressed more sloppily than usual in just a white t-shirt and black gym shorts as well as some dirty Nikes. She confessed to them she'd jogged there, taking the long way hence the odd direction she came in. Both Wendy and Robbie had to glance at Thompson's face. Fortunately it was back in his gummy worms trying out the dare no one suggested.

They all started walking down the concrete path leading to the theater laughing and chatting the whole way. They discussed the movie. The reviews were shit as was the trailer. 'Great' Tambry thought, 'Well...maybe I can pretend to laugh at how bad it is.' Wendy couldn't help but feel how disinterested the other girl seemed to be in her presence, as per usual. It was to be expected, of course. Why was she being so selfish? This wasn't like her at all. She didn't like it, either. It was at that moment she decided she wasn't going to have any more expectations for the rest of the night. And if she couldn't avoid them, she was going to ignore them until they went away. Whatever her issue was, it wasn't Tambry's to deal with. It was something wrong with her – something she, therefore, needed to keep to herself. It was true that Wendy had never pursued anyone before. She simply hadn't liked anyone enough to do that. All of her relationships, including the one with Robbie, were started by them asking her out, her being bored, and not wanting to hurt their feelings if she didn't feel she absolutely had to. If she wasn't emotionally invested, but could act like she cared the way they did, she figured there'd be no room for anyone to be rejected. Relationships always, always ended up hurting at least for one person because one always cared more than the other. That's what she believed, and that's what she vowed to always stick to.

Besides, that was the least of her issues. She was dating Robbie in everyone's eyes. Not only that, but she didn't even know if Tambry liked girls.

* * *

><p>As soon as they'd bought their tickets and stepped into the screening room, Thompson pulled Robbie aside. He started complaining to him about how Tambry smelled funny from all the sweat.<p>

"There's no way I'm sitting next to her, bro," he whispered as quietly as possible still speaking loudly enough for Robbie to hear, "Can you ask Wendy to or something? Girls understand that exercise crap."

Robbie groaned at the thought. His plan was for Wendy to be on his right with Thompson on his left and Tambry on Thompson's left. If Tambry sat next to Wendy, the two would probably gossip the entire time. They'd only been dating for about 2 weeks. He hoped this might be their perfect opportunity to make out for the first time. Being a guy, though, he knew how Thompson felt. If it had been Wendy who showed up drenched in sweat, he'd have to take a rain check on his plans, too. Hesitantly, and frustratingly, he agreed. It was only 7 PM. Their curfew wasn't until 11. With any luck, he'd get Wendy alone for a bit once the movie ended.

He pulled Wendy aside who took no time agreeing to the arrangement. Robbie didn't notice much but that did stand out to him. She was more often than not the type to do everything at a nice, slow pace. He thought nothing of it, though… in his mind, worst come to worst, what could the reason be?

They were all shocked to find that Tambry actually obeyed the rule of not having your phone on during the feature. Never before had they seen her without it for more than 15 minutes let alone for 2 hours. Maybe there was some different side of her personality that would come out now that she wasn't allowing herself to be distracted that way, never mind the fact that a movie would be playing enabling them to hardly hear each other. Each of them made a mental note to casually observe her throughout the time they spent there.

30 minutes in and they all understood why the movie got the reviews it did. It made use of, the kids were pretty sure, the fakest blood the producers could get their hands on with the tackiest effects. A couple of times, they thought they saw a string or two when certain objects went floating around in a paranormal fashion. It was so bad that it wasn't even good ergo Tambry's plan to laugh at it went straight down the drain. She and Wendy had hardly said two words to each other, and still Robbie had fallen asleep because of the sheer dullness of it all. He was soon after joined by Thompson; they could tell because of the obnoxious snoring. Wendy was wide awake, though not for lack of trying. It most certainly wasn't because she was enjoying the movie. She was still fighting intense urges to speak to Tambry. They were stronger than ever now that the boys were 'gone.' Despite her wishes for herself, she glanced her way. She saw her damn near scratching her pocket where her phone sat trying to resist the temptation of checking it. That was too hilarious for her to not say something.

"Psst…Tambry," she leaned in close enough to the shorter girl for her to hear, grinning, "Don't even try it."

"What…?" Tambry peered at her with those same deep brown eyes making Wendy jump a little inside. She pointed to her phone, "Oh…wow. I really am addicted. I didn't even notice."

They both laughed, apparently a bit too loudly as someone above the girls hushed them. They sat there a few more moments trying to pretend to watch the movie. It was beginning to be unbearable. To Wendy's surprise, Tambry turned to her next.

"I can't do this anymore. I'm going out to check my phone…did you wanna come with?"

"…Uh," was she actually asking her that? "..Yeah, but what about the guys?"

Tambry made a face before replying.

"I'd rather not wake them up. I'll write a note and stick it to Robbie's hoodie." They laughed again.

Tambry pulled out a posted note and pen from her backpack left over from school that day. On it, she wrote that they were going to hang out near the concession stand. There were only 45 minutes left in the movie at that point and the boys looked knocked out. It was doubtful that they'd wake up before they got back.

* * *

><p>The concession stand was empty for the most part. It was dark. Gravity Falls wasn't very populated to begin with. Tambry laid her back against the large glass case of candy again searching through the avalanche of statuses for something that might catch her attention. Wendy wondered if, prior to coming out there, Tambry might initiate even more conversation. Moments of silence passed by before she realized that wasn't going to happen. Oh, well…her only worry was potentially annoying her by being the first to speak, anyway. She decided to ask her something on her level.<p>

"So…," Wendy started, "Anybody saying anything interesting?"

She knew Tambry probably heard her because she looked forward, away from the screen. A few seconds passed while she registered that she'd been asked such a thing. No one had cared about what she did on her phone before – not even the boys she dated. They all just thought she was wasting her life even though she had a reason for acting the way she did. Also, sometimes she thoroughly enjoyed the things she found that way.

"Yeah, actually. This guy I watch on YouTube from Australia just posted a new video. He goes around looking in the desert for animals, but wrestles them and everything. It's crazy. Wanna see…?"

Wendy agreed and stood next to her so Tambry could turn the phone to face them. The video was so funny, they ended up watching 3 more in a row. Afterwards, Wendy volunteered to show her some of the videos she watched in her spare time. Somewhat miraculously, Tambry hadn't seen any of them. And what's more, she actually liked what she was watching. Both girls decided in their heads that they shared the same sense of humor. Before they knew it, 20 minutes had passed. Wendy found she was perfectly content with watching more, but Tambry put her phone down on the counter beside her.

"Sorry, but can I ask you something?"

"Totally," Wendy looked back at her, wide-eyed, "What's up?"

"Well…it's about Thompson. I was curious – do we look good together?"

'What a question…' the taller girl thought knowing full-well her answer would have to be 'HELL, NO!' There was a reason she was asking, however. She couldn't very well be so blunt if Tambry didn't happen to feel the same way. It was her life, in the end. No one knew what she should do better than…well, Tambry.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because it seems like you and Robbie want me to like him," She turned her gaze away from Wendy, instead half-heartedly focusing on the double glass doors far ahead in front of them, "And, like…I don't."

"…" She scratched her head. She was thoroughly amazed that for someone who tried so hard not to pressure anyone, she allowed Tambry to think she was doing the exact opposite. How had that even happened? "I'm sorry…I was never trying to do that. I'm glad you said something. Just wondering, though – what is it about him that you don't like?"

"…Honestly? It's not even just Thompson. I'm starting to think it's how all boys are."

Without her explaining, Wendy knew exactly what she meant. Robbie was such a jerk most times, always trying to prove himself to people. She hated the way his true feelings were so obvious yet he'd deliberately deny having them, and even act against them sometimes just to try to look tough. Whenever she tried to reach out to him about his emotional outbursts i.e. the explosion he painted on the water tower and the metal vocals in his band, he responded with "It's nothing." It was as if he didn't want to get close to her. Meanwhile, they'd been friends for years and he'd been the one to ask HER out. The least he could do if he was opting to be closer to her is act like it. She was beginning to wonder if he thought she was just another prize to be won i.e. more evidence he was 'the Man.'

"I take that back,' Tambry continued, snapping her out of it, 'Maybe it's not all boys. But who cares? What makes boys so special? I want someone who listens to me. They can't be afraid to talk to me because they're ashamed to have feelings. And I don't care if that person's a boy or not."

Wendy glanced at her, "Are you trying to say something…?"

"…Um…yeah, actually. I think I'm into girls, too. I've been thinking that for a while…I just didn't wanna tell Robbie and the other guys. They'd probably make stupid comments about how hot that is and whatever."

They stood there for the next few minutes in silence; Tambry, afraid of how Wendy might react, and Wendy, filling up with joy she dared not speak of. 'It doesn't mean she's into me,' she told herself, 'She still thinks I like Robbie. She doesn't know how I feel. Don't get excited.' With so many thoughts speeding in and out of her head, she had next to no concept of how long she'd gone without reply.

"Wendy?," Tambry half-whispered. Her shyness made Wendy's heart melt. This was a side of her much, much less sassy than she was used to.

"Yeah. It's no big deal. I understand…lately, I've been thinking I might like girls, t-"

"HEY!" Robbie yelled from a distance. He and Thompson were coming up at full speed behind them. Both of their faces wore expressions of shock and mild frustration. "What happened?"

The girls just smiled to themselves knowingly.

Leaving the theater, Robbie reached for Wendy's hands, a gesture which she politely declined. That didn't stop him. As the 4 of them walked to his van parked near the candy store, he asked the red haired beauty if she wanted to hang out for a while.

"Nah…sorry," she made it a point to quickly look in the other girl's direction, grabbing her focus, "I'm pretty tired. Just wanna go to bed."

* * *

><p>A few days later, Tambry was back in her room checking statuses as per usual. Out of nowhere, she saw a Facebook post from Robbie. It stated that he was now single along with some pseudo-philosophical post about never judging a book by its cover. Upon seeing this, she went over to Wendy's page. She felt bad for Robbie but figured he probably got what was coming to him. Tambry was aware that Wendy hardly posted anything, so she was especially delighted to see the following written on her wall:<p>

"it's a new day =)"


End file.
